Lowe’s earnings miss estimates

Lowe’s results come amid a string of mixed results from retailers recently. Analysts had expected a 3.9 percent gain.

Earnings per share missed analysts’ expectations, while quarterly sales topped their estimates by a whisker.

Profit in the three months through July 31 was $1.20 a share, Mooresville, North Carolina-based Lowe’s said Wednesday in a statement.

Sales for the quarter totaled $17.35 billion, beating the Wall Street estimate of $17.27 billion and up from $16.60 in the second quarter of 2014. Sales at U.S. Lowe’s stores rose 4.6%.

In a weak retail environment, home improvement stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot Inc. have been an outlier with consumers showing more of a willingness to spend money replacing windows and upgrading countertops than to splurge on fashion and everyday goods. “This, together with the execution of our strategic priorities, gives us confidence in our Business Outlook for 2015”, Niblock added. Earnings this quarter were up from $1.04 per share in the same quarter a year ago.

Lowe’s shares have risen 6 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has increased nearly 2 percent. In the past 52-week period, the stock has been trading in a range of $49.70 to $76.25.